KUALA LUMPUR: DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has won his bid to obtain documents containing the forensic digital analysis of a Whatsapp conversation between two businessmen linked to his ongoing trial, here.
Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi ruled today that the documents were necessary, desirable as well as important to his defence.
She said the court was satisfied in its finding that there were two different versions of evidence produced in a case at Shah Alam court, involving businessman G. Gnanaraja and the court here, that refers to the same payment voucher and Public Bank cheque.
She said the two different versions of evidence was in regards to the purpose of the money given and to who the RM2 million was handed to.
"Based on proceeding notes and witnesses written statement in the Shah Alam trial that has been produced as exhibits in this application, the court finds that the applicant (Lim) has successfully proved that there is a fact that payment vouchers and Public Bank cheques were used to withdraw RM2 million, which was said to have been handed over to G. Gnanaraja in a case at the Shah Alam Court.
"Meanwhile, in the case before this court, the evidence also showed that the same payment voucher and cheque had also been submitted and had been marked as exhibits, and that the RM2 million was said to have been handed over to the accused.
"The evidence also shows that there was a discussion about the money through a Whatsapp conversation between Datuk Zarul and G. Gnaraja and that there is a digital forensic analysis report that has been prepared by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission regarding the Whatsapp conversation.
"The digital forensic analysis report was submitted before the court here. However, the digital forensic analysis report produced in the Shah Alam court case, which was requested through this application was never submitted to this court," she said.
Azura was referring to Urban Construction Group (BUCG) managing director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli as 'Datuk Zarul' in her judgement.
She said the court also found that the documents requested via the application that was filed under Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code is relevant in accordance to Section 5 and 11 of the Evidence Act 1950.
Therefore, she said, comprehensive facts must be presented and submitted to this court so that the truth will prevail.
"The applicant needs to get a digital forensic analysis report and the complainant's report in the Shah Alam court case in order to provide a fair defence.
"At the same time, the court agrees and take notes of the applicant's basic rights as provided under Article 5 and Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, where the court agreed and found that the principle of equality and rights to fair trial will only be achieved by allowing this application.
"Following this, the court allowed the application and the applicant has succeeded in showing the court why it is necessary and desirable as well as important to the defence case and the application under Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code should be allowed," she said.
She also ordered for the documents to be handed over to Lim's counsel within two weeks from this date, before fixing May 10 for re-mention.
The mention of the forensic digital analysis of a Whatsapp message thread came to light since September last year, when Lim's counsel Gobind Singh Deo told Azura that a similar message thread between Zarul and Gnaraja had been extracted from Zarul's handphone and produced in a separate trial in Shah Alam.
Lim is facing four charges of using his position as the then chief minister to solicit gratification to help Consortium Zenith Construction to secure the tunnel project.